A new national report is showing disturbing statistics when it comes to family violence in Canada.
A report from Canada's chief public health officer was released Friday and shows that in 2014, there were over 85,000 reported victims of family violence in Canada. With dating violence included, that number increases to 133,920 victims. Of those victims, 96,000 of them were women and almost 20,000 were under the age of 20.
Of the thousands of Canadians impacted by family violence in 2014, 131 died at the hands of a family member.
"Some Canadians families are in crisis and the statistics are staggering," says Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Gregory Taylor.
According to the report, family violence ranges in severity and includes neglect as well as physical, sexual, emotional, and financial abuse.
"Family violence impacts health beyond just immediate physical injury, and increases the risk for a number of conditions, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as high blood pressure, cancer and heart disease," says Taylor." Despite the work of many researchers, health care professionals, organizations and communities, we still do not have a good understanding of why family violence happens, nor do we know how best to intervene."
Despite the staggering statistics, family violence reported to the police has decreased across Canada over the past four years.
The report states that gathering accurate statistics can be difficult because people are reluctant to talk about family violence, and it often goes unreported.
"This report sheds light on a topic that can be hard to talk about," says Taylor. "Family violence often remains hidden."